U.S. Vows to Back Turkey Over Kurdish Rebels

ANKARA - The United States will maintain its support of Turkey in the fight against Kurdish rebels, visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Dec. 16.

"In my discussions here in Ankara, I made very clear that the United States would continue to assist Turkey in confronting this threat," Panetta told a press conference.

The United States said in October it planned to sell Turkey with three new Super Cobra attack helicopters for the campaign against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in a deal worth $111 million.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community including Washington, took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeast Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.

The United States also said in November it was redeploying four Predator drones to Turkey from northern Iraq, with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

"We're prepared to discuss further efforts to try to improve the capabilities" of Turkey regarding drones, Panetta said without elaborating.

Some members of the U.S. Congress are opposed to the possible provision of drones to Ankara as they are concerned about the strained ties between Turkey and Israel.

"We try to share that information with the Congress so that they understand why this is important we take those steps. We continue to explore other steps that can be taken to assist Turkey in the effort to deal with the PKK," Panetta said.

Relations between one-time allies Turkey and Israel plunged into crisis after Israeli commandos killed nine Turks on board a flagship of a flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip last year.

NATO Ends Iraq Training Mission

BAGHDAD - NATO ended its training mission in Iraq on Dec. 17 as alliance officials lamented the collapse of a deal to extend it because Baghdad refused to grant its troops immunity from prosecution.

U.S. LT. GEN. Robert Caslen, center, the head of the NATO training mission in Iraq, stands next to Iraqi Chief of Staff Abu Baker Zebari, second from left, while addressing a ceremony in Baghdad marking the end of NATO's training mission there on Dec (Sabah Arar / AFP)

U.S. Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, the head of the NATO training mission, said the alliance had been willing to sign a deal with Iraq's government and did not require parliamentary approval, but Baghdad's lawyers said MPs would need to vote on any pact.

By contrast, the collapse of an agreement for a post-2011 U.S. training mission, which was being discussed between Baghdad and Washington, was due to the U.S.'s insistance that it be approved by lawmakers.

The United States has signed over its final base in the country, and virtually all remaining American forces in Iraq are due out in the coming days.

Adm. James Stavridis, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, said in a letter addressed to Caslen and read at Dec. 17's ceremony that "there were hopes to continue the mission beyond 2011, and we are concluding earlier than we had hoped."

Caslen told reporters after the ceremony that NATO was willing to sign an agreement with Iraq's executive, "but ... as the lawyers reviewed it and looked at it, they thought that the immunities had to go back down to the parliament."

"They knew they weren't going to get that (approved)," he said.

He continued: "The secretary general of NATO had the authority to go ahead and approve it with whatever (authority) the Iraqi government decided."

"So the issue ended up being who in the Iraqi government had the authority to approve this ... It turned out to be, Iraqi law said the authority had to be at the legislative level."

He added that the lack of a post-2011 NATO training mission was "unfortunate".

On Nov. 29, a NATO spokesman said the alliance had been asked by Maliki to "extend its training mission until the end of 2013" and that it had "accepted this request in principle."

NATO's training mission in Iraq was aimed at assisting "in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions," and as of November 2011, 12 countries were represented in its force, comprising around120 soldiers.

All will leave by year's-end. A post-2011 training mission would have involved around 110 NATO soldiers, Caslen said.

U.S. Navy Expects to Base Ships in Singapore

WASHINGTON - The United States, facing a rising China but a tighter budget, expects to station several combat ships in Singapore and may step up deployments to the Philippines and Thailand, a naval officer said.

ADM. JONATHAN GREENERT speaks during a ceremony in September at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. In an academic article, Greenet said the U.S. Navy will stations its newest littoral combat ships in Singapore. (MCS 2nd Class Shannon Eve Renfroe / Navy)

The United States has been increasingly vocal about defending freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where tensions over territorial disputes between Beijing and Southeast Asian nations have been on the rise.

In an academic article forecasting the shape of the U.S. Navy in 2025, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, wrote that "we will station several of our newest littoral combat ships" in Singapore.

Greenert said that the United States may also step up the periodic deployment of aircraft such as the P-8A Poseidon - which is being developed to track submarines - to regional treaty allies the Philippines and Thailand.

"The Navy will need innovative approaches to staying forward around the world to address growing concerns about freedom of the seas while being judicious with our resources," he wrote in the December issue of the U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings.

"Because we will probably not be able to sustain the financial and diplomatic cost of new main operating bases abroad, the fleet of 2025 will rely more on host-nation ports and other facilities where our ships, aircraft, and crews can refuel, rest, resupply and repair while deployed," he wrote.

The naval officer did not directly mention China, as part of the usual policy by U.S. President Barack Obama's administration to publicly seek a more cooperative relationship with the growing Asian power.

But the United States has laid bare its concerns about China.

Obama last month announced that the United States would post up to 2,500 Marines in the northern Australian city of Darwin by 2016-17, a move criticized by Beijing.

The United States also has some 70,000 troops stationed in Japan and South Korea under longstanding alliances and has offered assistance to the Philippines which launched its newest warship on Dec. 14.

Singapore is also a long-standing partner of the United States. The U.S. military already operates a small post in the city-state that assists in logistics and exercises for forces in Southeast Asia.

In the article, Greenert described the Gulf monarchy of Bahrain as a model. The U.S. Fifth Fleet is based on the small island which is strategically close to Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.

"In 2025 the Navy will operate from a larger number of partner nations such as Bahrain to more affordably maintain our forward posture around the world," he wrote.

The United States spent some $700 billion on its military in the past year, far more than any other country, and many lawmakers accept the need for cuts as the Iraq and Afghan operations wind down.

The Obama administration has identified Asia - full of fast-growing economies and with a still emerging security order - as the key priority for the United States.

Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta all traveled to Asia in recent months to hammer home the message that the United States will not leave the region despite economic woes at home.

"As the United States puts our fiscal house in order, we are reducing our spending," Obama said in his speech in Darwin.

But he added: "Here is what this region must know. As we end today's wars, I have directed my national security team to make our presence and missions in the Asia-Pacific a top priority."

Naval power, critical to the rise of the United States and earlier Britain as global powers, is expected to remain critical in the 21st century.

China has developed its first aircraft carrier, which has undergone two sea trials this year. An image of the 300-meter (990-foot) refitted former Soviet carrier was captured by U.S.-based company Digital Globe Inc.

Pentagon Chief Sees Close Partnership with Libya

TRIPOLI - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that Tripoli could become an important security partner of Washington as he visited Libya on Dec. 17 for talks with new regime officials.

"We are and will be your friend and partner," Panetta said at a news conference with Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Kib.

"This new and free Libya can become an important security partner of the United States," he said, adding that Washington was looking forward to building a close partnership.

"We stand ready to offer whatever assistance in the spirit of friendship and a spirit of mutual respect."

But Panetta, who also met Defense Minister Osama Jouili, stressed that his talks in Tripoli did not involve military equipment.

"At this stage there was certainly no discussions involving arms or military equipment," he said when asked about the type of security cooperation he envisioned.

Earlier he had told the travelling press, including an AFP correspondent, that his brief visit to Tripoli was to confer with the country's new rulers on the security needs of their government.

"The purpose of my trip to Libya is to have an opportunity to look at that situation up close but to also pay tribute to the Libyan people to what they did in bringing (former leader Moammar) Gadhafi down and trying to establish a government for the future," Panetta said.

He acknowledged that Libya's rulers would face huge challenges but said he was confident they would "succeed in putting a democracy together in Libya."

"I'm confident that they're taking the right steps to reach out to all these groups and bring them together so that they will be part of one Libya and that they will be part of one defense system," he said.

Panetta said he expected the Libyans "to determine the future of Libya" and "determine what assistance they require from the United States and the international community."

Libya's rulers are facing a big challenge as they try to disarm militiamen who fought to topple Gadhafi and secure thousands of surface-to-air missiles stockpiled under the former regime.

Pressure to disarm the former rebels has mounted after local media reported several skirmishes between militia factions in Tripoli, with some resulting in casualties.

There are concerns that the Man-Portable Air Defense Systems, or MANPADS, could be used by militant groups against commercial airliners and helicopters.

For his part Libya's interim premier said the United States was willing to help Libya "without any interference."

Kib also acknowledged that his government had a difficult task ahead.

"We know how serious the issue is," he said, adding: "I'm very optimistic."

"The Libyan people are known to be peaceful and I'm sure that they will be back to that mentality," he said in English.

Panetta's visit came a day after the United Nations and the United States lifted sanctions on Libya's central bank in a bid to ease a cash crunch in the post-Gadhafi era, diplomats said.

The U.N. Security Council ended a freeze on the assets of the Central Bank of Libya and the Libyan Foreign Bank, which was ordered in February as part of sanctions against Gadhafi.

The U.S. government said it would be freeing more than $30 billion (23billion euros) of assets belonging to the central bank and LFB in a bid to help the new Libyan government.

The Tripoli authorities have stepped up calls in recent weeks to release the estimated $150 billion frozen abroad to help pay salaries and keep services running.

On top of the $30 billion held in the United States, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said his government would immediately act to free about 6.5 billion pounds ($10 billion) held in Britain.

The easing of the sanctions "marks another significant moment in Libya's transition," Hague said in a statement.

"It means that Libya's government will now have full access to the significant funds needed to help rebuild the country, to underpin stability and to ensure that Libyans can make the transactions that are essential to everyday life."

Panetta was also to lay a wreath at the graves of 13 U.S. sailors killed in 1804 when their ship exploded during the very first foreign intervention by military forces of the recently independent United States against pirates based in North Africa.

He travelled to Libya from Turkey, where he held wide-ranging talks. On Dec. 15, he was in Iraq to take part in a ceremony marking the end of the U.S. mission there.

U.S. Forces Mark End of Iraq Mission

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces formally marked the end of their mission in Iraq with a low-key ceremony near Baghdad on Thursday, after nearly nine years of war that began with the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

There are a little more than 4,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, but they will depart in the coming days, at which point almost no more American troops will remain in a country where there were once nearly 170,000 personnel on more than 500 bases.

The withdrawal ends a war that left tens of thousands of Iraqis and nearly 4,500 American soldiers dead, many more wounded, and 1.75 million Iraqis displaced, after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion unleashed brutal sectarian fighting.

"Your dream of an independent and sovereign Iraq is now reality," U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at the symbolic flag-lowering ceremony held near Baghdad's airport.

"Iraq will be tested in the days ahead - by terrorism and by those who would seek to divide it, by economic and social issues, by the demands of democracy itself," he said.

But the U.S. "will stand by the Iraqi people as they navigate those challenges."

"This is a time for Iraq to look forward. This is an opportunity for Iraq to forge ahead on a path to security and prosperity," said Panetta.

"And we undertake this transition today reminding Iraq that it has in the United States a committed friend and partner. We owe it to all of the lives that were sacrificed in this war not to fail."

He described the U.S. withdrawal as "nothing short of miraculous" and "one of the most complex logistical undertakings in U.S. military history."

Gen. Lloyd Austin, the commander United States Forces - Iraq (USF-I), cased the colors at the ceremony, rolling the USF-I flag around its pole and covering it with a camouflage bag.

He noted that "eight years, eight months and 26 days ago, as the assistant division commander for maneuver for the 3rd Infantry Division, I gave the order for the lead elements of the division to cross the border" into Iraq.

"I was here when we originally secured this airfield," he said.

The ceremony was also attended by U.S. ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. James Mattis, the head of the U.S. Central Command, and about 160 U.S. soldiers.

Iraq was represented by military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Babaker Zebari and defense ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari.

"For over 20 years, Iraq has been a defining part of our professional and personal lives," said Dempsey.

"We will remember you and those that have gone before - what you risked, what you learned, how you sacrificed ... and the fallen comrades for whom we all still grieve."

The ceremony comes a day after hundreds of people in Fallujah marked the impending departure of American forces by burning U.S. flags and shouting slogans in support of the "resistance."

Fallujah, a city of about half a million people west of Baghdad, remains deeply scarred by two American military offensives in 2004, the latter of which is considered one of the fiercest for the United States since Vietnam.

Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, ordered the invasion of Iraq in 2003, arguing Saddam was endangering the world with weapons of mass destruction programs.

Saddam was ousted from power and later executed, but such arms were never found.

Obama made his political career by opposing the war. In late 2002, he said he was against "dumb wars" such as Iraq, and rode anti-war fervor to the White House by promising to bring troops home.

The war was launched in March 2003 with a massive "shock and awe" campaign, followed by eight-plus years in which a U.S.-led coalition sought not only had to rebuild the Iraqi military from the ground up, but also to establish a new political system.

Iraq now has a parliament and regular elections, and is ruled by a Shiite-led government that replaced Saddam's Sunni-dominated regime.

The pullout, enshrined in a 2008 bilateral pact, is the latest stage in the changing U.S. role in Iraq, from 2003-2004 when American officials ran the country to 2009 when the United Nations mandate ended, and last summer when Washington officially ended combat operations.

Iraq Wants to Buy 18 More F-16 Fighter Jets

Iraq wants to buy an additional 18 Lockheed Martin F-16IQ Fighting Falcon jets, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Dec. 12.

The $2.3 billion sale includes 24 Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-229 or General Electric F110-GE-129 engines, and would be managed under the Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) apparatus, the release says. The deal would also include a host of ancillary equipment such as targeting pods, weapons and conformal fuel tanks.

"The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by enhancing the capability of Iraq's Air Force," the release says. "The proposed aircraft and accompanying weapon systems will greatly enhance Iraq's interoperability with the U.S. and other NATO nations, making it a more valuable partner in an important area of the world, as well as supporting Iraq's legitimate need for its own self-defense."

Earlier in the year, Iraq ordered 18 F-16 C and D model jets. If this proposed sale is finalized, Iraq would own 36 of the single engine, multirole fighters.

Lockheed was awarded the $835 million contract on Dec. 5, calling for the delivery of 12 C-model single-seat jets and six D-model combat-capable two-seat training jets by May 30, 2018. The company will also provide support equipment, technical orders, integrated logistics support and contractor logistics support. The jets will be powered by Pratt and Whitney's F100 PW-229 afterburning turbofan, which delivers 29,000 pounds of thrust. The deal was announced in late September.

The earlier jet purchase also is through the FMS program

U.S., Iraqi Leaders Say They'll Cooperate

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Dec. 12 vowed that Iraq had "an enduring partner" in the United States after meeting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as America marks its exit from a nine-year war launched to oust Saddam Hussein.

"After nearly nine years, our war in Iraq ends this month," Obama said after meeting with Maliki at the White House.

"In coming days, the last American soldiers will cross the border out of Iraq with honor, and with their heads held high," he added, although he said "history will judge" the decision by his predecessor, George W. Bush, to invade Iraq in 2003.

Acknowledging a conflict which has left a wounding legacy for both nations, Obama said the men were there "to honor the sacrifices of all those who made this day possible and to turn the page."

The men were later to visit Arlington National Cemetery, where many of the nearly 4,500 U.S. war dead lie buried.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis also died in a war, insurgency and sectarian violence that left Iraq with the stirrings of a democratic political system but facing challenges from neighbor Iran.

Obama added "it was time to begin a new chapter in the history between our countries. A normal relationship between sovereign nations. An equal partnership based on mutual interests and mutual respect.

"As we end this war, and as Iraq faces its future, the Iraqi people must know that you will not stand alone. You have a strong and enduring partner in the United States of America."

Maliki thanked Obama and said his country now had "very high aspirations," saying Iraq had established a democratic process and could now rely on its own security forces.

The last U.S. troops of a garrison that once numbered nearly 170,000 are preparing to leave this month, ending a nearly nine-year presence following the invasion.

Maliki will also meet U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and lawmakers to discuss security, energy, education and justice.

The full withdrawal from Iraq was mandated under an agreement concluded by the Bush administration.

Long-running talks designed to provide for a future training mission by U.S. troops failed over the issue of providing immunity for U.S. troops in Iraq, although both sides say they are still talking about future military exchanges.

About 6,000 U.S. troops remain stationed in Iraq on three bases, down from peaks of nearly 170,000 soldiers and 505 bases. All the troops must leave by the end of the month.

For his third visit to the United States since coming to power in May 2006, Maliki is being accompanied by Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Culture Minister and acting Defense Minister Saadun al-Dulaimi, Transport Minister Hadi al-Ameri, Trade Minister Khayrullah Hassan Babakir and National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh.

Also on the trip are National Investment Commission chief Sami al-Araji and Maliki's chief adviser and former oil minister Thamer al-Ghadban.

With American troops on their way out, some Republican lawmakers have expressed concern that neighboring Iran could step into the security vacuum. But Obama warned that other nations "must not interfere in Iraq."

The U.S. military leaves behind an Iraqi security force with more than 900,000 troops, which U.S. and Iraqi officials assess is capable of maintaining internal security but cannot defend the country's borders, airspace or maritime territory.

Some 157 uniformed U.S. troops and up to 763 civilian contractors will remain to help train Iraqi forces under the authority of the sprawling U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Obama will mark the final withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by addressing returning soldiers Dec. 14 at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Facing a reelection battle in November, Obama stressed he has kept his 2008 campaign promise to bring American troops home from Iraq and is now turning to nation building at home in tough economic times.

Although violence has declined markedly from the sectarian bloodbath that reached a peak in 2006-07 when tens of thousands were left dead, it remains a common feature of modern Iraq. In November alone, 187 people were killed in attacks, and several major bombings took place this month.

NATO Announces End of Iraq Training Mission

BRUSSELS - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Dec. 12 announced that a mission to train Iraqi security forces will end at the turn of the year.

"The North Atlantic Council has decided to undertake the permanent withdrawal of the NATO Training Mission-Iraq personnel from Iraq by 31 December 2011," Rasmussen said in a statement.

"Agreement on the extension of this successful program did not prove possible despite robust negotiations conducted over several weeks," Rasmussen said.The news provided confirmation after Iraq's top security adviser Falah al-Fayadh told AFP of the decision in an interview aboard a flight transporting Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to Washington.

On Nov. 29, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraq was studying a contract to extend NATO's presence in Iraq beyond year's end but noted that such a deal would not grant its troops immunity from prosecution.

The failure to agree on immunity from prosecution closely mirrors Iraq's refusal to grant U.S. soldiers similar protections earlier this year, sinking a potential deal between the two countries that means all American soldiers left in Iraq will leave by year's end.

The NATO mission trained more than 5,000 military personnel and more than 10,000 police in Iraq.

Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Iraq has built up forces more than 900,000 strong, including an army that U.S. and Iraqi officials reckon is capable of dealing with internal threats, despite the violence.

About 6,000 U.S. troops remain stationed in the country on three bases, down from peaks of nearly 170,000 soldiers and 505 bases.

Security leaders roundly acknowledge, though, that the country is incapable of defending its borders, airspace and territorial waters.

NATO Denies Iraq Report of Withdrawal: Official

BRUSSELS - NATO denied an assertion by Iraq's national security advisor on Dec. 11 that it had decided to withdraw its mission there at the end of the year after Baghdad refused to grant it legal immunity.

"There hasn't been a decision yet," an official at NATO headquarters in Brussels said, while acknowledging that the question of the mission's legal standing was an issue.

"When they ask us to extend the mission, we need to see that the same legal framework will extend as well," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"We remain hopeful that a solution will be found and that we'll be able to say yes to the Iraqi request to extend our mission, based on the legal framework that we (have) had since 2009," the official added.

The official was responding to remarks earlier on Dec. 11 by Iraq's National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh who said the decision had already been taken, because Baghdad had refused to grant the force legal immunity.

The failure to agree on immunity from prosecution closely mirrors Iraq's refusal to grant U.S. soldiers similar protections earlier this year.

That sank a potential deal between the two countries to keep U.S. soldiers in the country beyond the end of the year.

Iraq Places Order for 18 F-16s

Lockheed Martin has been awarded an $835 million contract for 18 Block 52 F-16 Fighting Falcons for Iraq.

IRAQ WILL RECEIVE 18 Block 52 F-16 Fighting Falcons, like the one shown above. (U.S. Air Force)

The contract, awarded Dec. 5, calls for the delivery of 12 C-model single-seat jets and six D-model combat-capable two-seat training jets by May 30, 2018.

The company will also provide support equipment; technical orders; integrated logistics support; and contractor logistics support. The jets will be powered by Pratt and Whitney's F100 PW-229 afterburning turbofan, which delivers 29,000 pounds of thrust. The deal was originally announced in late September.

Iraq is buying the jets though the U.S. Defense Department's Foreign Military Sales system.

Maliki Says He's Confident of Iraq's future

WASHINGTON - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Dec. 5 expressed confidence in the future of his country following a full withdrawal of U.S. troops at the end of the month. But he said he was counting on American assistance.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced in October that U.S. troops would leave Iraq by the end of 2011, bringing to a close an almost nine-year war.

"Today, however, I am confident about the future of my country and the capabilities and resilience of our people," Maliki wrote in an op-ed piece in The Washington Post.

He said his government was seeking a "comprehensive redevelopment" of the country, which would involve creation of legislation and institutions, strengthening of freedoms, and reinforcement of Iraqi democracy.

"We want to build a state of citizens and not sects," Maliki wrote. "We want to create a healthy environment conducive to investment and provide vital services to citizens, including access to a proper education."

The prime minister said Iraq sought to build a strong army and security forces that have the capacity to protect its sovereignty and interests.

"We are able to do this with the help of the United States," he said.

Maliki said Baghdad opposed foreign interference in Iraqi affairs. "Iraq does not aspire to unduly influence any state but looks to cooperate with all countries to help maintain regional security," he wrote. "Iraq will not allow itself to become a source of disruption to friendly countries."

In contrast to the government of Saddam Hussein, the new Iraqi government has been treating neighboring Iran as a friendly state.